Comment insertion (2007)

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Word 2007 automatically selects an entire word whenever you insert a comment. As a teacher I use the comment feature extensively to place feedback in the margins of a paper. Automatically selecting a word draws attention to the highlighted word, when what I want to do is simply speak to the issue at hand.

Does anyone know of a way to turn OFF the automatic highlighting of a word when inserting a comment?

Flip side: When a phrase is selected, inserting a comment does highlight the entire phrase. This is what it should do. It should highlight what is selected, not arbitrarily select the closest word.

Word XP did not do this.

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Word 2007 automatically selects an entire word whenever you insert a comment. As a teacher I use the comment feature extensively to place feedback in the margins of a paper. Automatically selecting a word draws attention to the highlighted word, when what I want to do is simply speak to the issue at hand.

Does anyone know of a way to turn OFF the automatic highlighting of a word when inserting a comment?

Flip side: When a phrase is selected, inserting a comment does highlight the entire phrase. This is what it should do. It should highlight what is selected, not arbitrarily select the closest word.

Word XP did not do this.

W2003 and W2007 both highlight the word the cursor is in or if the cursor is not in a word, the previous word. But I do recall the behavior you describe. It’s what put me in the habit of selecting the text I wanted to comment on before clicking the comment icon.

If you have a general comment not tied to specific text, you can select a space or the paragraph mark (¶) before clicking the icon.

Pam

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Hi Pam,

Would people also use hidden text for commenting? Using regular commenting (Ctrl+Alt+M) or hidden text, which is better?

Armstrong

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People can choose to display hidden text, but if they don’t, they won’t have a clue that there is hidden text somewhere. Comments are visible – either as a ballon or as an indicator in the text, so they are to be preferred.

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Hans,

Thanks for your feedback. I didn’t take into account a lengthy document. In that case, you’re right, it’s inconvenient to locate the hidden comments even with Find (Ctrl+F).

Armstrong

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